the men yelled were still ringing in his ears. "At least they didn't do anything severely drastic," he
thought. He nearly got beat up by the men; they were all taller and bigger than him. Cat calls of
"blondie!", "fag!", "sissy-boy!", "queer!" and "queer boy!" echoed in his head. Even though he
thought he was emotionally strong, tears started to well in his eyes. He wanted to go someplace warm
and safe. He wanted to see Neil. He walked down the alley, wiping off the tears in his eyes.
Bernard kept on walking while shaking, and crying like a young child. Suddenly, he heard Neil's
voice.
"Bernard? Bernard? What's the matter?"
Bernard woke up on the sofa. He was in Neil's flat. Was he dreaming?
"Neil, some blokes were trying to beat me up, and..." Bernard whimpered.
"Sh...relax, darling. It's just a dream. See, you have nothing on your face, no dirt or anything. You just
had a really horrible nightmare," Neil gently calmed Bernard down.
"What time is it?" Bernard asked.
"It's 9 PM," replied Neil, glancing at the clock on the wall.
"I must have dozed off...," he replied, looking at Neil.
Neil kissed the top of Bernard's head, softly ruffling the golden locks of hair on Bernard.
"I'll make you some hot cocoa, all right?"
Bernard nodded at the suggestion.
"I'll be with you all night, OK, Bernard?" Neil told him.
"Thanks, Neil," Bernard replied.
Bernard gently held Neil's face and kissed his lips.
Neil warmly smiled back.
They were both safe and sound that night at Neil's flat.